Lying on Your Car Finance Application

Buying a car on finance can be a long, drawn-out process. It can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you have previously been refused finance and you need a vehicle to help your day-to-day life.

While you may have been refused because of your circumstances, such as not currently having an income, lying on your finance application to make things seem better than they are will impact you in the long run.

Not only will it prevent you from being approved in the future, but it's also fraud, and could end up with you getting prosecuted and facing much worse than being refused a car loan.

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If you end up borrowing more than you can afford because you lied on your application, you could face financial difficulties that could impact your whole life, not just whether you get to keep your car.

You could spiral into debt, unable to pay your rent or mortgage, and, therefore, potentially lose your home. It's important to think about all of this before making a finance application, regardless of whether you intend to lie or not.

Your credit score

When you make a finance application, lenders will review your credit history to see the number of loans you have previously taken out and whether you could repay them, amongst other things.

If you have lied on a previous application, this may be flagged in your report, which could deter future lenders from loaning to you. Most lenders will also have an anti-fraud process to check your name against fraudulent records.

Your credit history lasts for up to six years, so even if you lied on an application a long time ago, you could still be impacted several years down the line, even if your credit score is good.

The impacts of lying

Lenders require you to provide all of the information you do because they want to check your affordability and make sure that not only can you repay them, but also you will have a sufficient amount of money per month to pay for everything else.

While lenders may be perceived as the 'baddie', in reality, they are legally required to protect you and your income and not loan to people who may not be able to afford it.

Therefore, if you lie on your application and somehow slip through their net, you could be borrowing amounts that you can't afford, or making your repayments means you have less money for other things.

This then causes a further spiral because if you fall into debt, your credit score will drop, and you may find it even more difficult to get out of those problems and apply for future loans.

Secured and unsecured loans

If you lie on your application and get approved, the lender could end up repossessing your car if you secured the loan against the vehicle and cannot make repayments.

It would mean that the payments you made were meaningless, and you would have likely lost a significant amount of money, as well as impacting your future creditworthiness.

If you have an unsecured loan, it means the loan is not protected by an asset, and cannot be repossessed. If you couldn't make payments, you could be taken to court and forced to repay.

At this time, not only would you have to face a hefty court fee and make repayments, but it's also likely that the fraud will be uncovered, and you could be in a far worse situation.

The risks involved

Lying on your car finance application is illegal, and you would be committing a criminal offence by doing so. You would risk prosecution and be unable to borrow money again for a considerable period.

When applying for finance, you should be completely transparent with your lender, even if you risk being refused the loan. To reduce the risk of that happening, you could research lenders that would be more likely to approve your application, especially if you have bad credit.

Applying for finance can be tough and complicated, but lying will only worsen things for you. Be honest and straightforward to give you the best chance of being offered the best deals.